Needle-jogging mechanism for sewing machines



Aug; 28, 1923.

Original Filed March 15 1 918 INYENTUR.

@ZZZ JZa/af ATTORNEY Patented Aug. 28, 1923.

'UNI TE D STATES PATENT OFFHEE.

RALPH M. OF NEW YORK, Y., ASSIGNORITO B. 1W. SHARAF MACHINE CO OFBOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORATION OF MASSACHUSETTS.

- NEEDLE-J'OGGING MECHANISM FOR SEWING MACHINES.

A pp1icationfi1ed March 15, 1918, SerialNo. 222,590. Renewed September8, 1921. SerialfNo. 498,321.

T all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, RALPH M. SHARAF, a citizen of the United States, andresident of the borough and county of the Bronx, city and State of NewYork, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inNeedle-Jogging Mechanism for Sewing Ma chines, of whichthe followingis'a specifica1 tion.

7 My invention relates to sewing ;machines of the type in which theneedle in addition to its vertical reciprocating motion, also-has alateral motion for the purpose of producing a zig-zag stitch. The objectof my present invention is to provide a. very simple mechanism forobtaining this motion in such away that all the parts will be firmlysupported and guided during their movement. 7 y

Referenceis to be had to the accompanying drawings illustrating aspecific embodiment of my invention. 7 V

Figure 1 "s a side elevation of the improvement, with parts in sectionsubstantia-lly on line l1 of Figure 3;

Figure 2 is a corresponding front elevation, with parts in sectionsubstantially on line 2-=2 of Figure 1;

vFigures 3 and 4 are detail horizontal sections taken on lines 3- 3 and4- 1respectively of Figure 2; and

t Figure 5 -is a diagrammatic view illustrating the-movement of theneedle bar.

In the head or overhanging arm of the sewing machine, are journaled inaxial alignment with eachother, but held against longitudinal movement,two sleeves 11 and 11, each having a cylindrical but eccentric bore inwhich the needle bar 12 is adapted to reciprocate up and down. As shown,the needle bar is provided at its lower end with a head or holder 12,carrying the rigidly vconnected needles 12", which prefer-ably op--erate in different longitudinal planes with respect to the direction inwhich the'fabric is fed, saidfdirection being indicated by the arrows atthe bottom of Figures 1 and .3.

Each ofthe sleeves llrand 11 is provided with a' spur gear 13, 13respectively, in mesh with two pinions 14, 14; respectively, rigid on avertical shaft 15 which is journaled in the arm 10. This connection issuch that the two sleeves 11, 11' will be conipelled to turn in unison,always keeping the two eccentric bores in vertical alignment for theproper guidance of 'the needle bar .12 in every position of saidsleeves. The simplest construction forthis purpose is to have the .twospur gears 13, 13 made alike, and similarly toh'ave the two pinions 14,11 alike, The sleeves'll, 11? are normally stationary, but between eachtwo successive stitching operations of the needles, the sleeves aregiven a half revolution by means of a, 1

toothed sector 16, adapted to mesh with the spur gear 13, and secured toa disk or collar 17 which-is rigidi with the horizontalrshaft 17 locatedin the head of the machine, The number of teeth on the toothed sector16-is just one halfof the'number of teeth on the spur gear 13.

The needle-bar is reciprooated vertically by means of a crank pin 18 onthe disk 17, and a connecting rod 19 extending from said pin to a bossorslider 20, preferably formed integral with the said connecting rod, andguidedfor vertical movement in a slideway 110 of thehead or frame 10. Asshown,'the' outer surface of-this boss Where it engages the slideway iscylindrical, or, broadly speaking, circular curvature in cross section,so that the boss may not only move up and down in the slideway 10, butalso rock on its ownaxis. Vvithin this boss is 'located centrally ahorizontalpin 21 fitted loosely into the boss and extending axiallythereof, so that the boss can turn on the'pin and the pin can slidelengthwise, that is, horizontally within the axial bore of the boss. Theouter, end of the pin 21 has a' transverse horizontal perforationenabling it to slide-upon a pin or screw 22 which is secured rigidly toasleeve or collar22 fastened to the needle bar 12. The screw 22 may atthe sametime serve as a fastening screw to clamp the collar 22 upon theneedle bar. If r Any suitable mechanism may be provided to preventaccidental'turningof-the sleeves 11,; 11 at such times when the spurgear 13 is'not in mesh with the sect-or 16. As an exampleof. suchmechanism, I have shown a rib 17 ofcircular curvaturerigid with thecollar 17,-and located at that portion thereof which is nottoothed,,said .ribada'pted successively' to engage a't its outer curvedperiphery the-concaved under side of; two pm jections 13', onthe spurgear 13 to lockthe lot when it is in mesh with the sector 16. p

as V

In view of the fact that the presser foot bar 23 comes quite close tothe spur gear 13, it is preferable to arrange the shaft 15 and thepinions 14, 1 1 carried thereby, at the end of the arm 10; that is tosay, the vertical axis of the shaft 15 will intersect the horizontalaxis of the shaft 17 as will be evident from Figures 1 and 2.

The operation is as follows: The drawing illustrates the parts in aposition at the end of a laterallmovement' of the needle bar in thedirection of the arrow at the bottom of Figure 2, the needle bar beingshown as having begun its downward stroke, and the needles being in theposition indicated at a, corresponding to the position of the needle baraxis at b. The axis of the sleeves 11, 11 isdesignated by 0. The needleswill continue their 'downstroke in this position, andwill also remain inthe same line during the greater part of the following upstroke, andduring thi time the rib 17 by its engagement with one of the projections13", will lock the sleeve 11 against accidental turning, and this willalso look the sleeve 11, owing to the connection effected by thepinio'ns 14, 14' and shaft 15. As the end of the upstroke is approached,the end of the rib 17 will leave the said projection 13 and thus freethe spur gear 13, which is immediately engaged by the toothed sector 16and given a half revolution. During this half revolution the needle baraxis will move in a path of cylindrical curvature, through an angle of180, as indicated by the semicircle and arrow at (Z in Figure 5. Theneedle bar axis will thus be brought to the position b, and the needlesto the corresponding position indicated by a in Figure 3, Since thislateral movementcis in the direction opposite to that indicated by thearrow in Figure 2, the distance between the needle bar and the boss orslide 20 will be increased, causing the pin 21 to be pulled outwardlywithin its socket in said boss, yet preserving the driving relation ofthese -parts. It will also be understood that as the needle bar movesthrough the semicircular or semicylindrical path above referred to,

the pin 22 will slide through the opening of the pin 21, thus againallowing the required freedom of movement while preserving the drivingrelation. The particular connection shown also has a further object andadvantage, viz. to keep the needle bar in such a way that all thepositions taken by the head 12 during the movement, will be parallel toeach other. Thus when, as in the example illustrated, the vertical planecontaining the two needles is perpendicular to thelin'e' of feed(indicated by the arrows at the bottom of Figures 1 and 3) this plane,while changing in position as the needle bar moves in its curved path,will always remain perpendicular to said line of feed,

thus preserving the proper relation of the needles to each other, andcausing themto always face in the same direction. This result followsfrom the fact that the pin 22' is rigidly connected withthe needle bar12, and that the construction described will com pel the said pin toremain parallel to its original position during the entire movement ofthe needle'bar. w

After the needles have performed a working stroke (downstroke) in theposition a, their position will be shifted again to the position atoward the end of the'following upstroke, by a lateral movement in thedirection indicated by the arrow in Figure 2. During this lateralmovement, the needle bar axis will again move in a path of cylindricalcurvature, through'an angle of 180, but instead of being in the same areas before, this return movement will be through the complemental areindicated by the semieircle antl arrow d in Figure 5. The two arcs (Z,(Z together form a complete closed curve (circle), and the arrowsindicate that the movement of the needle bar axis around the stationarycenter or axis 0 is in the same direction on both arcs (clockwise in theparticular case illustrated). It will be obvious that each of theneedles will perform a 'rotary movement about axes removed from theirown axes of exactly the same'character as described with respect to theneedle bar and illustrated by the circle d, d in Figure 5. I a

With the crank pin 18 located at the cen tral portion of the toothedsector 16, j as shown, the lateral shifting of the needles will takeplace partly at the end of the upstroke of the needle bar and partly atthe beginning of the immediately following It will, however, beunderdownstroke. stood that this exact arrangement is not essential, andthat the lateral movement may be timed to occur at other stages of thevertical reciprocation of theneedle bar, as long as such lateralmovement is made to take place at a time when the needles have beenraised suificiently to clear the fabric. 7 i I It will be understoodthatif on one working stroke the needles enter the 'cloth in theposition a, on the next working stroke they will occupy the position a,and so on in regular alternation. r 1 While I have illustrated anddescribed a preferred and satisfactory embodiment of my invention, it isobvious that changes may be made therein within the spirit and scopethereof, as defined in the appended claims. Particularly, I do not wishto restrict myself to the provision of a plurality of needles on thesame needle bar.

I claim 1.'In a sewing machine, a needle bar,

means rotatable in a closed path supporting said bar, means operativelyconnected with said supporting means adapted-to move said supportingmeans to shiftthe needle bar laterally in amovement which shifts theaxis of said needle bar in the same direction in'a closed path, andmeans adapted to reciprocate said needle bar longitudinally to performstitching operations at different points bore, said sleeve beingrotatable about said bar, and means for turning'said sleeve to shift theneedle bar, said needle bar being non-rotatable about its own axis.

v 3. Ina sewing machine, a frame, a cylindrical member mounted to turnabout its own axis relatively to said frame but held againstlongitudinal movement, and provided with a cylindrical guide surfaceeccentric to the turning axis; of said'memb'er, a longitudinallyreciprocating needle bar having a cy lindrical guide surface inengagement with said eccentric guide surface, and means for turning saidmember to shift the needle bar.

4. In a sewing machine, a frame, a member mounted to turn relatively tosaid frame but held against longitudinal movement, and provided withaneccentric cylindrical guide surface, a longitudinally reciprocatingneedle bar having a cylindrical guide surface in engagement with saideccentric guide surface, and means for giving said member a halfrevolution between each two successive stitching operations, to-shiftsaid bar alternately to two different positions.

5. In a sewing machine, a frame, a member mounted to turn relatively tovsaid frame but held against longitudinal movement, and provided with aneccentric cylindrical guide surface, a longitudinally reciprocatingneedle bar having a cylindrical guide'surface in engagement with saideccentric guide surface, and meansfor giving said member a halfrevolutionbetween each two successive stitching operations, to shiftsaidbar alter; nately to two difierent positions, and means for holdingsaid member against turning during the periods intervening between theshifting movements of the needle bar.

6. In a sewing machine, a needle non-rotatable about its own axis, meansadapted to reciprocate said needle longitudinally, means adapted toshift the axis of said needle in one direction in a closed path, andmeans adapted to causesaid movementito take place intermittentlyalongsaid'path to cause successive working strokes'tooccur at differentpoints of said path. a

7. In; a sewing machine, a-needle non-rotatable about, its own axis,means for reciprocating said needle longitudinally, and means forcompletely revolving said needle about anaxis removed from the axisofsaid needle; 3" I 8. In a sewing machine, a needle bar non rotatableabout its own axis, means for re ciprocating said needle barlongitudinally, and means for imparting'rotary movement to'said needlebar in one direction in a closed path about" an axis removed fromtheaxis of said needle bar.

9. In a sewing machine," a needle bar non-. V

rotatable about its own axis, correlated means adapted to reciprocatesaid needle bar longitudinally, and "revolve said needle barintermittently in one direction about an axis removed from its own axis,and adapted to cause a plurality of 'reciprocations to a completerevolution of saidneedle bar. I

10. In a sewing machine, a needle bar 'non-' rotatable about its ownaxis, means adapted to reciprocate said needle bar longitudinally, meansadapted to shift the axis of said nee dle bar in onedirectio-n in aclosed path, anda plurality of needles carried thereby and sharing itsreciprocating and shifting movements, said needles being out of linewith'respect to; the direction in which the fabrictravelsf p i 11. In asewing machine, a frame, a cylindrical member mounted toturn'rel'atively to said frame but held against longitudinal movement,and provided with a guide surface eccentric to the turning axis of'saidmember, a longitudinally reciprocating nee dle'bar having a guidesurfacein engagement with said eccentric guide'surface, a toothed gearheld to turn with, saidmember, and an actuating gear adapted to turnsaid first-named gear periodically, and thereby shift the needle bar. 1

12. In a sewing machine, a frame, a member mounted to turn relatively tosaid frame but held against longitudinal movement, and I provided withan eccentricguide surface, a longitudinally reciprocating needle barhaving a guide surface in engagement with said eccentric guide surface,a toothed gear held to-turn with said member, and a rotary actuatingorgan having a toothedjsector for turning said gear and memberperiodically and also having a connection for imparting a longitudinalreciprocating movement to the needle bar.

13. In a sewing machine, a frame, a cylindrical member mounted to turnrelatively to I said frame andprovided with a guide surface eccentric tothe turning axis of said member, a longltudlnally reciprocating needlebar having a guide surface in engagement with said eccentric guidesurface, a rotary actuating organ, a slide connected with said organ toreceive a reciprocating motion in the same direction as the needle bar,said slide being held'against lateral movement, means'for turning saidmember, whereby, the distance between the needle bar. and said slideisvaried, and a self-adjusting operative connection permitting relativelat-. eral movement between the needle bar and said slide.

H. In a sewing machine, a frame, a member mounted to turn relatively tosaid frame and provided with an eccentric guide sure face, alongitudinally reciprocating needle bar having a guide surface inengagement with said eccentric guide surface, a rotary actuating organ,a slide connected with said organ to receive a reciprocating motion inthe same direction as the needle bar, means for turning said member,whereby the distance between the needle bar and said slide is varied,and a. self-adjusting operative connection between the needle barandsaid slide, said connection comprising a pin carried by said slideand slidable with refer ence thereto toward and from the axis of saidmember, and another pin carried by the needle bar and extendingtransversely of the first-named pin, and in sliding engagementtherewith.

15. In a sewing machine, a frame having aslideway, a cylindrical membermounted to turn relatively to said frame and provided with aguide'surface eccentric to its turning axis, a needle bar arranged toreciprocate longitudinally in a direction parallel to said slideway andhaving a guide surface in engagement with said eccentric guide surface,a rotary actuating organ, a connecting rod operated by said organ andprovided with a portionarranged to slide and rock along said slideway,said portion being held against lateral movement, and a: self-adjustingoperative connection permitting relative lateral movement between saidconnecting rod portion and the needle. bar.

16. In a sewing machine, a frame, two

axially aligning members mounted to rotate relatively to said frame andeach provided with a guide surface eccentric to their turning axes and.rotatable therewith, a l0ngi tudinallyreciprocating needle barnon-rotatable about its own axis having guide surfaces in engagementwithjsaid eccentric guide surfaces, and means for rotating said membersabout their own axes in unison to.

shift the needle bar.

17. In a sewing machine, a frame,.two

axially aligning members mounted to turnrelatively to said frame andeach provided with an eccentric guide surface, a longitudinallyreciprocating-needle bar having I guide surfaces in engagement with saideccentric guide surfaces a toothed gear on each of said members, aconnecting shaft having pinions in mesh with saidgears and compellingthem to-turnin unison, and a driving gear for actuating one of saidtoothed gears periodically. y 7 18. In a sewing mach'ne, a frame, acylindrical member movably monnted in said frame and provided withaguideway, a needle bar non-rotatable about its own axis mounted toreciprocate longitudinally along said guideway, and means formo-vingsaid member relatively to the frame about its own axis to shift theneedle bar laterally.

19. In a sewing machine, a frame, two

cylindrical members movably mounted in said frame and provided withco-axial' guideways, a needle bar non-rotatable about its own axismounted to reciprocatelongitudinally along said guideways, connectingmechanism for causing said two members to move in unison about their ownaxes, and means'for actuating one of said members to shift the needlebarlaterally. v

20. In a sewing machine, a frame, a cylindrical sleeve mounted to turntherein, and

provided with a cylindrical boreeccentric to movement to said needle-barin, one direction in a closed path'about an axis removed from the axisof said needle bar.

In testimonythat I claim the foregoing-as my invention, I have'sig nedmy name.

RALPH M. SHARAF.

cating said needle bar longitudinally, and means for impartingintermittent rotary

